A common mistake made by a private consultant surgeon when invoicing is undercharging for their work. This is alarming when most consultant surgeons wish to increase their fees.
How can I charge more for my work?
This always spins off into a debate regarding private medical insurance companies being the enemy. Fees are always being reduced with the private surgeon being paid less and less. That may be true sometimes. It is not the right place to start, however.
The Right Place to Start
The right place to start is to make sure you are charging the correct fee. Such fee may be less than you want of course but, many times, be more than he thought you were entitled to.
Take the example of an orthopaedic surgeon who contacted MHM to process her medical invoices recently. She thought her consultation fees were too low. That also may be correct. But that was the consultation fee the insurance company was prepared to pay.
The orthopaedic surgeon was unaware some of the insurance companies were prepared to pay a fee for minor procedures carried out at a consultation. They would pay a procedure fee together with a fee for the consultation. Whilst some insurance companies weren’t prepared to pay both fees, some were. Instead, the consultant had been charging ONLY for the minor procedure. She had not been charging for a consultation as well.
More Common Than You May Think
The same situation was equally applicable to a private dermatologist just as it was applicable to a GI surgeon. It is not therefore applicable solely to orthopaedic surgeons. It is applicable to many specialisms. The issue, therefore, becomes one of: am I charging the right fee?
To confirm the fee is correct a review of procedure codes and the fee for the procedure code should be undertaken. Both may then be compared against the fee structure of the private medical insurance company concerned. Each code and combination of codes must be checked against the fee schedule of the private medical insurance company. The often stated assumption that all insurance companies pay the same fee for the same procedure code should be rejected.
Variation in fee structure
Take the example of a repair of the primary repair of Achilles tendon. Insurance company A pay a fee of £336 whereas insurance company B pay £405 – £69 more! The orthopaedic surgeon concerned was of the belief insurance companies paid out the same fee. She had UNDERCHARGED by £69 as a result.
To return to the original issue of charging a consultation fee alongside a fee for a minor procedure, take a look at injection into soft tissue. The same insurance company paid a fee of £108. The orthopaedic surgeon in question was unaware that a follow-up consultation could be charged in ADDITION to the fee for the injection. Another £150 on top of the £108! Thus the correct charge was not £108. It was in fact £258
What is your specialism?
To further illustrate the point a dermatologist may charge the very same insurance company, £91 for a curettage of skin or lesion. He or she may also charge a follow-up consultation fee in addition. If the follow-up consultation fee is £100 (and it is for the MHM client concerned) the fee for the WHOLE event has doubled!
Thus the most common mistake in medical invoicing is not realising that fees can and do differ between insurance companies and also that some, not all but some, private medical insurance companies will actually and quite happily pay MORE for your work than you may be aware of.
pete@medicalhealthcaremanagement.co.uk